Corn and Tomato Salad

If you are making corn on the barbecue, add a few extra ears to make this salad. It can also be made with cooked corn rather than grilled, but that doesn't have the same smoky flavour.

Ingredients

  • 4 ears corn, husked
  • 1 jalapeno pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon garlic, chopped
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons water
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

Salad:

  • 1 head red leaf lettuce
  • 2 beefsteak tomatoes, diced
  • ¾ cup chopped sweet white onion
  • 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped coriander

Method

Preheat grill to high.

Brush corn with a little oil, place on the grill and grill for 10 minutes, rolling corn around occasionally until corn is tender and has a few charred kernels. Remove corn kernels by slicing them off with a knife into a bowl. Reserve corn and any juices.

While corn is grilling, place jalapeno on the grill beside corn and grill for 8 minutes or until the skin is lightly charred and pepper is softened. Let cool. Skin jalapeno and chop.

Place ½ cup corn and any liquid in a food processor, reserving remaining corn. Add vinegar, garlic, olive oil and basil and process until as smooth as possible, adding a little water if needed (it should resemble lightly whipped cream) and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Tear lettuce into a salad bowl or platter. Top with tomato, onion, grilled jalapeno and reserved corn. Drizzle with vinaigrette and garnish with coriander. Serves 6.